Piedmont
by Dawn Totadile
Summary: Basically a what happens after the series ends, leading up to the second summer. Mainly shorts about holidays and events that happen over the year, so no worries. It's not gonna be long, but it'll have it's humor. OH, and yes, Sherman Pines will make an appearance and hang with his older bros, so there BOOM!
1. Chapter 1

Dipper Pines had never looked so confident on the first day of school before. While he and his sister shared the majority of their classes, he had been placed in AP science while his sister was in AP Art. It wasn't too bad for the thirteen year old twins (who are technically teenagers… technically…) Dipper had changed for the better over the summer he had spent with his estranged great uncles in Oregon. He had learned confidence, bravery, survival skills, and that it was perfectly fine for him to be himself. His Great Uncle (Grunkle Stan) Stanley had taught him to stand up for himself and to value family over anything else. His Great Uncle Stanford (Grunkle Ford) had taught him to never fear the weirdness, but to embrace and learn from it… and to never trust "Muses" and one eyed triangular demons.

He couldn't wipe the smile off of his face as he sat down next to his equally giddy twin in homeroom on the first day. They had already planned out what they were going to say about their summer if asked. They went to stay with their uncles who lived in the woods. They went fishing. Mabel won a pig at a fair. They went camping. They helped out at their Great Uncle's shop which was a tourist trap. They made friends with the "Neighbors". Nothing dangerous, all completely normal… and true technically. Yes, it was a safe enough truth. The two had talked it over on the bus ride home. Their mother had been reluctant at first to keep Waddles, between her daughter and her husband's excitement for a pet pig and love for it, and Dipper's insistence that it was a well-trained pig already and that Mabel wouldn't do well without it, Waddles had become the official pet pig of the Pines Family.

Dipper didn't even frown when gym class started. It was a game of dodgeball. He looked to his sister who was on his team, of course, and the two nodded. Last year, Mabel would get so distracted after a while, that she'd get hit, but Dipper, being the wimpy nerd brother, was more often the one to get hit first. This year was sooooo different.

When the bullies who usually picked on Dipper grabbed the red rubber balls of death, they were not expecting for the nerd and his twin to both grab ammo and return fire. They were not expecting the Pines Twins to be able to dodge the red orbs of doom. They were certainly not expecting both twins to land a few hits on them, even though Dipper failed the first throw. "Seriously?" He asked the ball as it flopped right in front of him. Mabel had just laughed and said it was like the water balloon fight they had over the summer.

As the day ended, the twins went to their lockers, which were next to each other, both laughing at the day they had just had, and how simple everything had been compared to what they had done over the summer. Their laughter quickly ended as Dipper opened his locker only to be hit with a large book in the head.

"OW!"

"Dipper, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Nothing should be in the locker yet though… do you think that someone just left something in it from last year?" Dipper asked as he picked himself up.

Mabel's eyes widened as she picked up the item that had hit her brother. "Not unless they went through the bottomless pit and shoved this in there!" Mabel held the journal up to Dipper's sight.

"Wha! Journal Number 3!" It was a journal with a golden six fingered hand on the cover and a number 3 made in black paint. The red leather bound journal had guided the boy through the majority of the last summer he had barely survived, and now was fully repaired in its original form while still holding the notes that he and his friends had made over the summer. Dipper snatched the journal from his sister's grip and looked through it. "It's all here! It's all here, Mabel! Everything is just as we left it, and Grunkle Ford's recent notes are still in it too!" He excitedly showed his twin who was happy to see him so excited.

"Alright! OH, do you think the other journals are nearby too? Or do you just have a special connection to that one?"

"Who knows? I don't know! Isn't this exciting!" That statement of course got students to look around. There was something Dipper didn't know? How unheard of!

"Easy there, Dipper. Don't hurt yourself." Mabel said with a smirk. She opened her locker and dodged as a portal, from the bottomless pit no doubt, chucked journal number 2 at her. "Besides, now we've got number 2 as well!" Mabel chuckled as she grabbed the red journal from the ground. She was somewhat surprised that Gideon hadn't found it, seeing as he had found it originally, but then again, she was the member of the Pines family that the boy had a crush on… an obsessive and creepy crush… uggh…

"YES!" Dipper fist pumped and started jumping up and down in excitement before remembering the two had to get to the bus. "Oh, man, we gotta get to the bus!"

"Right!" The two shoved what they didn't need into their lockers, grabbed their backpacks and the journals, and high-footed it towards the front of the school where the buses were parked and ready to take them home.

 ** _An hour later…_**

Stanley was busy looking through the cupboards of the "Stan of War 2" for the coffee. As he opened the last cupboard, not only did he find the coffee, he also found Journal Number 1. "Ugh… didn't we chuck you into the bottomless pit?" He muttered as he looked at his old frenemy.

The book had been the curse that got his brother trapped, and yet helped to bring him home all in one. It was quite strange how he had come to depend on the book to help him bring his brother back, and yet how much he hated it for what it stood for. Now that everything was said and done though? He just didn't think it went with his coffee.

Stanley grabbed both the book and the coffee and started to make a new pot before going up to the upper deck to talk to his twin. "Oi, Poindexter!"

Stanford, the smarter of the twins, looked over to his conman counterpart. "What is it, Stan?"

"Here!" Stanley shoved the book in his six-fingered twin's chest. "Keep your nerd stuff out of the coffee cupboard. "

"Stanley, what are you talking abou… oh my… this is… but then… where are the other journals?" Ford's eyes widened in fear until a small beep from one of his machines pointed out that the duo had gotten an email from their niece and nephew. Stanford had rigged up a few things so the two got internet anywhere in the world and were always able to stay in touch with the younger mystery twins and their friends at the shack.

Stanley had beaten his twin to the computer and opened the email that they had both received. "Heh, looks like the kids got them." There was a picture of the twins smiling while holding Journal 2 and 3 in their hands. The email also went on to document their first day, and how they had ganged up with their dad to keep Waddles. Their mother had never stood a chance. Dipper had asked if they wanted the journals sent to them, but the elder twins both agreed it would be best kept with the younger set, as Piedmont had less trouble and was less of a hotspot for the paranormal. Things would be fine…


	2. Chapter 2

Dipper was helping to set up everything for Halloween while his twin worked on their costumes. They had both agreed that nothing would be better than to be their heroes, so they had decided that as the crafts master of the two, Mabel would make the costumes while Dipper made the props.

When Halloween came, their parents weren't sure who they were, not that it mattered to the twins. Dipper was wearing a trench coat and had a blaster on him, as well as some other pieces that the two had thrown together to make him look like their Great Uncle Ford. Mabel went as their Great Uncle Stanley with a tux and fez that she had customized with the claw that he usually had on, and Dipper had put together an eight ball cane for her. The two had dressed up Waddles as Soos for the fun of it. They sent a picture to their great uncles, wondering what they thought, as well as sent the picture to the rest of their friends in Gravity Falls.

Soos had been pleased to be included in the costume idea. Wendy couldn't stop laughing. Pacifica just said "Of course… it only makes sense that you would choose that for your costume."

For the older twins, they couldn't keep from crying and laughing. The family resemblance really helped them to fit the part. Mabel had even added glasses with no lenses for the costumes, making it look like they were the elder twins back in their youth. They had been honored to find that those were the costumes that the children had chosen, and that in the letter they said that they couldn't both be both of them, so they each went with one of their two heroes. Stanley had never felt happier, being considered a hero by his family.

The twins' mother didn't understand the reference to what the they were, but their father did, keeping it to himself, as he was the only one to read Mabel's letters and believe them.


	3. Chapter 3

Thanksgiving was coming up, and the twins were excited. Their father had gotten the day off work, and even though their mother wasn't able to, she had made sure that there was enough leftovers in the house since their father couldn't cook.

Their father, Alexander Pines, or Alex for short, had brown hair and brown eyes like most Pines, including the cowlick in the back. He was smiling and humming as he set the table for six, confusing his children.

"Um, Dad, you expecting people?" Mabel asked as she made her (in)famous Mabel Juice.

"Yes, actually. I invited your grandfather, and he said he'd show up. I also invited a couple of other old coots. No one you'll want to see, I'm sure." One for pranks, Alex worked as a video game programmer and artist on the side while his wife worked in a museum that was currently getting a new exhibit that would keep her out all night.

Sherman Pines, or Shermy for short, was Stanley and Stanford's younger brother, never being old enough to know Stanley, and only barely able to know Stanford, he grew to become a boxer with a few titles. Though no longer in pro boxing, he ran a boxing club for people to practice and train at, and he himself kept in shape.

A knock on the door signified that someone had showed up at the house. Alex smiled as he took his time going to the door. He opened it with a smile. "Hey, Dad. Glad you could come."

"Eh, no one's gonna blow the joint up while I'm gone, might as well check on you and the kiddies." Shermy smirked as he came in. He was just an inch shorter than his older brothers, and his hair was still peppered with his original brown hair. He had a kick in his step and a bit of life still in his eyes, being the youngest of the three, and just as stubborn as his brothers. He had gotten the same love for family as Stanley, but the yearn to be better like Stanford. His father had been harsh on him as well, but lightened up after he had turned twelve and the word that Stanley had died reached them. Guess Filbrick finally felt guilty.

"GRANDPA!" Shermy only had mere seconds to brace himself for his granddaughter's tackle hug.

"OOF, hello there, my little shooting star." Sherman had been the first one to call her that, and though it had creeped her out that Bill had called her that, she always felt better when Sherman called her it. "My, you're getting so big! And where's the little Dipper at?"

Mabel laughed at the old endearment that her grandfather had given to calling her twin. Dipper had heard Mabel's cry from his room and made his way down the stairs. "Jeez, Grandpa Shermy, can't ya just say my name without calling me out as being little?" Dipper grimaced as he was quickly pulled into the old boxer's embrace.

"Hehe, probably not, Little Dipper. Maybe when you're older I'll call you 'Big Dipper' instead though, hehe." Sherman chuckled. He put the twins down and looked at them. "So, how have you been, kiddos?"

"Fine. We met your brother up in Oregon." Dipper pointed out. Sherman winced. He had never really been one for contacting the twins when he knew they were both alive. He felt really bad that he had never known how to really talk to them or contact them in all this time.

"Oh? H…how is he?"

Suddenly another knock came at the door. Dipper and Mabel looked at it with confusion while Alex grinned like a Cheshire cat. He opened the door, looked at the people out there, then back to his own father who had started to lead the kids to the living room, when he called back to the old man. "Hey, Dad, it's a bit rude to not say hi to your brothers, ya know." That got all three in the house to freeze, and the two outside to flinch. Standing just outside were Stanley and Stanford, with bags of food from a nearby store, and a pack of Pitt Soda from Gravity Falls. Sherman just stood there looking at his two older brothers, both of which were obviously alive, and then he looked back at his son. "What?"

"You really are a cheeky little monkey, Alex…"

"Grunkle Stan! Grunkle Ford!" Mabel reached the elder twins in seconds, not able to contain her excitement much longer. She tackled the two, nearly making them fall and drop the food. Alex and Shermy were quick enough to grab all the food while Dipper went to help his great uncles up. "You're here! I thought you were still in Ant-art-ick-a or somewhere!"

"That's 'Antarctica', and your father called us up and invited us over shortly after you two left the Mystery Shack." Stanford grimaced as Dipper helped him upright and dust himself off before he noticed the youngest of his brothers. "Um… hello, Sherman… Alex…" He looked questioningly at his nephew before Dipper also grabbed him in a hug, one he made sure to reciprocate.

"How's it hang'en, guys?" Stanley, while still being held tightly by his great-niece, managed to stand up while holding her and grimaced. He hadn't been included in anything to do with the family since being disowned by his father, and hadn't been around to even know his little brother, or his family, until Alexander called him up and asked him to watch the kids for the summer. It hadn't been too hard to convince him when Alex pulled the "It'd do us a huge favor to get them out of the house for a summer, and you don't have to worry about too much, they're pretty smart kids. They can practically take care of themselves." Stanley had crumpled like a house of cards at that, thinking that it would allow him to get to know the family again, while he would still be able to work his job and his nights on the machine to bring his brother back.

Sherman took a deep breath as his son took all the groceries to the table, leaving the three old men with the younger twins. He frowned and indicated for the younger twins to let go of the older ones. Dipper quickly signaled to the elder duo to keep their guard up by showing a boxers guard being up. Stanford had been confused about this until Stanley pulled him away from Sherman's right hook and followed it with a punch of his own.

Sherman backed away with a smirk. "Jeez, the old man had ya all wrong, Lee." Stanley raised a brow at this, as well as the nickname. "Here he said ya didn't give a lick for the family, yet you pulling your twin back and swinging full says otherwise. Pa used to say you could judge a man by his handshake. Me? I say, judge it by his actions and his family's reactions."

"So what's that say about you, Shermy?" Stanley asked with a smirk of his own.

Sherman extended his hand as to a handshake. "I think that if ya got my grandkids ta like ya, then ya ain't anything like Pa said." The two shook hands, officially meeting for the first time. He then pulled Stanley into a chokehold. "Jeez, you rouge, way to make everyone think you were dead!" He laughed giving the older a noogie while he squirmed to get out of it. Stanley was sorta proud to see his little brother was strong and tough and that he was also kind.

Stanford grimaced at the two. "He only faked his own death so he could save my sorry hide from my own inventions… and my ego, heh…"

Sherman let go of Stanley, finally, who shook his head and breathed a little heavily with a chuckle. "Wouldn't have happened if I hadn't gotten upset about being forgotten by everyone in the first place."

"Is that what made ya break his project?" Sherman asked.

The twins stood up and looked at each other. Both with regret and embarrassment, but Stanley also had fear and worry in his. The subject had been sore in the past, but now… he didn't even remember if he did it on purpose or not.

Stanford shook his head and sighed. "No, the rest of us overreacted. Stanley accidently hit the table, tried to fix it, and then in a panic, forgot that he could just have called me to fix it before the fair started. Simple mistake that got blown out of proportions, that's all." Stanford grimaced as he thought about how much it had cost his twin, how much his ego had cost his beloved brother who put so much work into making it up to him, and saving him from his own mistakes… Stanley had given up so much for him, and he had only recently started to understand it.

Stanley placed a hand on his twin's shoulder, and gave him that comforting smirk that had always reassured him as a child, reminding him that even through everything, Stanley would still stand by him, and he did! Stanley stood with him, saving him from Bill and everything else, and Stanford hadn't even thought to thank him until he gave up his memories for his brother, destroying Bill in the process. Stanley was a real hero… and Stanford found himself not minding being the brother of said hero, even if he had always thought it would be the other way around.

Alex called the group into the dining room to eat after setting out the food. The food was good, and the company was great. The two sets of twins were quite happy to talk to Sherman and Alex while having their fun. Eventually a food fight started, though no one was sure how. Stanley would later blame Waddles for it, who would only snort and give a slight nod, as though to confirm it. "See? It was the Pig!" It was a great day for the group. Stanford and Stanley spent the night catching up with their little brother and the trio of old men were gone before Ariel Pines arrived home the next day.

A later email stated that Sherman Pines, having "Nothing better to do", joined the elder twins on the Stan O' War 2 and was sailing with his older brothers around the world, learning about all the weirdness that the duo had to live with in their lives and about each other.


End file.
